All For Something
by charlie-sjer
Summary: An Alternate Reality - Jack's son is still alive, Sam is engaged to Jonas Hanson
1. The Knockout

All For Something

  


_Title :_ All For Something

_Author :_ Charlie Brown

_Email :_ charlie_girl_brown@hotmail.com

_Status :_ Work in Progress

_Category :_ Sam/Jack Romance, angst. Alternate Reality

_Spoilers :_ Best to have seen Seasons 1 through 3

_Season info :_ The start of my story is set before the movie, 1997 I think, but forgive me if I'm wrong because we get everything a couple of years after the Americans. The joys of living Down Under (Australia for those of you who don't get the reference)!

_Sequel info :_ None

_Rating :_ M

_Content Warnings :_ Domestic Violence, Character Death, Sexual Situations

_Summery :_ An Alternate Reality - Jack's son is still alive, Sam is engaged to Jonas Hanson

_Disclaimer :_ I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not a thing! Well, apart from the original ideas in this story. Anyway, I intend no infringement in the use of the characters, places and story-lines, all of which incidentally belong to Gekko, Double Secret, and MGM (Gotta love those guys for giving us Stargate!), and I make no money off of writing this story. If I did do you think I'd be posting it on the net? So, you see, suing me is only going to cost you money, because I have none!

_Authors Note :_ I'll try and finish it really soon, I promise, but TAFE is getting in the way.

  


* * *

  


Dr Samantha Carter sat in her lab analyzing the data that she had collected on her last diagnostic on the Stargate. So far they hadn't been able to make it work, but she knew that they were on the right track because when they spun the gate they could make six of the seven chevrons light up. Not that any of them knew what would happen if all seven did light up anyway, they were still waiting to hear from a Dr Daniel Jackson regarding translations. He was the best in his field, but no-one seemed to know of his whereabouts. She'd spent the last six months theorizing and calculating all of the possibilities of what the large stone ring was designed to do, but had come up with little reward for her efforts. Granted it was much better to be have access to the 'Gate than to be stuck in some lab at the Pentagon. The only downside was that she would have to contend with the training program for Black Ops that was due to begin the following week in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex where she worked. The Stargate only took up one of the rooms in the sparse facility, and the scientist studying the technology only a few of the labs and offices so the 'higher ups' had decided that the building would be a nice safe place to conduct their drills.

Black Ops Training - Day 1 

Colonel Jack O'Neill pulled into Cheyenne Mountain, ready to begin the one month training program he'd been assigned to. He was looking forward to the prospect of learning some new skills, but disappointed that he had to stay on base for that period of time, especially when his marriage looked like hitting rocky ground. Sara was not particularly happy about his involvement in Black Ops as he was rarely home, leaving her to care for their nine year old son and a part time job. Sometimes he wondered if Sara's job was really necessary, most of the time the amount of money she earned wold be equal to the amount of money they spent on childcare, but she was adamant about returning to her career in real-estate and the firm she worked for seemed keen to keep her. Sighing, he passed the security check point and boarded the elevator to head down to briefing room.

"So, you worked here long?" He tried to make conversation with the airman escorting him.

"4 months, sir." Came the short reply.

"Ah," the Colonel lifted his head in acknowledgement. The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

In the briefing room, Jack met other men assigned to the program, including Major Charlie Kawalsky, and Captain Louis Ferretti. The three men made up one unit out of fourteen and bonded quickly. Afterwards they headed to the comissionary for lunch.

"So Jack, where are you from?" Kawalsky inquired when they had settled at their table.

"Born and raised in Chicago, living in Colorado Springs right now though, what about you?"

"New Jersey until I was 21, then all over, wherever the Air Force sent me up until I got this assignment."

"What about you Ferretti?"

"Ah, sweet home Alabama!" The other two just shook their heads and laughed. Charlie was about to make some jibe about county boys when something caught his eye and let out a low whistle instead

"What a knock out!"

Jack and Louis turned to see what he was going on about. Realising it must be the tall blonde over by the coffee machine, they agreed wholeheartedly. Jack had never seen such a long pair of legs in his life (outside of a magazine, at least), and the way that just-above-the-knee-length skirt hugged her hips, he thought he she must have been born wearing it.

'Whoa, there Jack, you're a married man remember.' his conscience berated him.

'Oh, come on, he's only looking!' his inner devil defended.

"Now, if she's Black Ops, I'm the Pope!" Ferretti interrupted his thoughts.

"Wouldn't mind going 'undercover' with her if you know what I mean!" Kawalsky winked. Jack just nodded and looked away. "Hey, Jack, cat got your tongue?" 

"I'm married Kawalsky, so zip it."

"Fine by me, less competition! In fact I might just see if she's free for dinner tonight."

  


Sam Carter left the comissionary with her coffee and headed back to her lab, only to be stopped by a man in fatigues.

"Hi, my name's Charlie, what's yours?

"Dr Carter."

"You got a first name Doc?"

"Sam. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Not unless you're free for dinner tonight?"

Sam was just about to reply, when another fatigue-clad man joined them.

"That's no way to ask a woman out on a date Charlie." He mocked.

"I thought it was quite clever myself," He rebuked with a smile "Why don't we ask the lady her opinion?" They both looked to her.

"Well," she began, "Firstly, I've heard worse pick up lines and secondly, a man should always check a woman's left hand before asking her out on a date." She raised said hand and wiggled her engagement ring in front of their faces.

"Look's like you're too late!" The second man laughed. She noticed he had the most gorgeous chocolate brown eyes she had ever seen.

"Too bad, I guess, but hey if things don't work out between you and you're fiancé, I'll be here for a month!" Charlie called out to her as she turned to leave. She hoped Jonas, didn't hear about this Charlie guy trying to chat her up. He always got extremely jealous when any other man paid attention to her, and it would be exaggerated by the fact that they hadn't seen each other in weeks. She didn't know if she could stand one more speech from him about how 'other men only wanted her for sex' and 'they didn't really care about her, not the way he did'. She couldn't seem to shake the words when he said them, deep down she knew that they weren't true but there was a niggling little feeling that maybe he was the only one who would ever care about her. He was the first guy in her life, including her father and brother, to show any real interest in her. She sighed and sat down at her computer, banishing the thoughts from her head. She loved Jonas and he loved her and they were going to get married, that was all that mattered.

Black Ops Training - Day 8 

It was close to 0100 hours and Jack was restless. He was still pumped from the day's exercises and just couldn't get to sleep so he decided to take a walk. Unfortunately the base wasn't very exciting to walk around and there was no-one around bar a few of the night posts. He was just about to give up and try and get some sleep when he spied a lab with its light on. Meandering over he stopped in the open doorway to discover the blonde woman that Charlie had tried to ask on a date. He chuckled at the memory of the look on Kawalsky's face when she had showed them the ring.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's so funny?

He was brought out of his musings by the question.

"Oh just the look of sheer disappointment on Kawalsky's face when he found out you were taken," he replied. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"You can ask anything you want," she smiled politely. "Doesn't mean you'll get an answer though!" The smile gave way to a grin. But there was just something about this man's eyes that made her want to tell him everything. He returned the smile and she felt her stomach flip.

"Well, firstly," he copied her phrase from their last encounter. "What exactly do you do around here and secondly, what could possibly be keeping you up this late?"

"The answer to your first question is classified and therefore so is the answer to your second."

"Ah, I see," he decided to carry on their little chat. "Surely it can't be important enough to keep you away from your fiancée at this hour?" For some reason he just had to know more about this woman. He sat down on one of the stools close to her bench.

"Jonas, my fiancée is away at the moment, and I wanted to get through this before he comes back."

"Business trip?"

"Something like that."

"What kind of business is he in?"

"The Air Force business." 

"Know all about that sort of business" The Colonel said as he nodded.

"I take it you here for the Black Ops training?"

"Yup."

"I don't think I caught your name last time."

"Oh, right sorry, Jack O'Neill, Colonel." He stretched out his hand left for her to shake as his right was occupied, fiddling with something on the bench.

"Dr Samantha Carter." She took his offered hand noticing the gold band on his third finger. She tried to hide her disappointment with a smile. 'Disappointment? Why was she disappointed, she was engaged! Probably just missing Jonas' she reasoned to her self. "So what are you doing up so late Colonel?"

"Couldn't sleep." She smiled in understanding and they fell into a comfortable silence. O'Neill, not one for long silences, decided to disturb it. "Would you mind if I hung out here for a while, just 'til I unwind?"

"I really should be getting back to my work." Sam was loath to lose his company but she couldn't stay up all night waiting for him to get sleepy.

"Oh, that's cool, you work, I'll just hang." He knew she was try to get rid of him but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to leave. It had been a long time since he'd had any female friends, aside from those of Sara's, but he wouldn't really call them friends. Not that he could really call Samantha a friend as such, but she just seemed so… friendly? 'Maybe it's time for bed'.

"Ah, okay"

'Or maybe not.' He changed his mind. 'Can always sleep in, tomorrow being Saturday'. 

  


Sam looked at her watch and yawned. 'Couldn't be 2:30am already!' She looked around the room, and blinked when her eyes landed on the Colonel. She had completely forgotten he was here. He was sitting on his stool playing with one of her gadgets.

"You look tired," he stated looking up at her. "I think we should go to bed."

Her eyed widened in surprise. 'Did he just ask me to go to bed with him?' Her sleep-deprived mind struggling to comprehend the words. She gaped at him, trying to find a reply.

Sensing her surprise, obvious from her shocked expression and the goldfish impression, he went over what he had said. Realization hit him.

"Oh, no not like that! Sorry, I just meant that it's late and... and," he struggled for words.

"Oh, right! Of course you didn't mean it like that. I must be tired." 'Of course he didn't, what was I thinking?' she berated herself. 'That it would be nice to get into bed with him, that's what!' she blushed furiously at the thought.

"Um, well, I should..." he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the door. "Ah, night, Doctor Carter." And he was gone.

  
Black Ops Training - Day 11   


Jack was woken by the sound of a telephone ringing.

"O'Neill." He answered, sleep still clogging his mind.

"Hi Jack." Recognizing the voice immediately -

"Sara." 

"Yeah, um, how are things going?

"Fine." 'We're really becoming distant aren't we'. He sighed.

"Look, um, the Firm, Jack, they offered me a promotion."

"Oh." 'Charlie's gonna need a full time sitter.'

"It's in Denver."

"What's in Denver?" Jack was confused.

"The job, Jack!" she sounded annoyed.

"Oh." 'Never really thought about living in Denver.'

"They want me to there by Friday."

"This Friday?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Would you stop saying that!" Sara screamed down the phone. 

Jack remained silent. 'Damn, just when I thought I found a place where could settle down she wants to move to Denver.'

"Look, I have to go. I need to get packing, call the removalists."

"Now wait a minute, I haven't agreed to this yet!"

"Jack, I'm taking the job and Charlie with me. You can come to Denver or stay here. But if you want to come to Denver, then that's it Jack. No more Black Ops.

'What! No more Black Ops? She can't do that. For once in my life I've found something I'm good at and she wants to take it away?' He was fuming.

"Charlie needs a father Jack. If it you can't be that then I'll find someone who can."

"Sara-" he began, but she had hung up. 'Damn! How am I supposed to choose between my job and my family?" The Airforce is all he'd ever known. What would he do if he left? What would he do without his family if he stayed? ' I can't live without Charlie.' That much he knew. 'Damn Sara for making me choose!' He was up and dressing, realising that he would need some coffee to tackle this decision.

  
To Be Continued in Part Two  


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© Copyright 2003 Charlie Corp. Most recent update: August 15, 2003. For more information, contact Charlie

  



	2. A Heart to Heart

All For Something (2)

  


Jack spent the walk to the comissionary staring at his shoes mulling over his conversation with his wife. The more he thought about the angrier he got. She had given him an ultimatum; either quit Black Ops or lose his family. She'd basically threatened him with a divorce. If he was honest with himself that thought didn't hurt as much as it would have a few years back. He and Sara just weren't as close as they used to be. When they'd first gotten married his Black Ops missions had been fairly short and simple. But after the Gulf things had changed, himself included. Sara had spent more than a month dealing with emotional pain, believing he was dead after hearing his plane had been shot down. He had spent most, if not all of that time in physical pain. He didn't care to remember that period of time. When he'd gotten back, he had to spend months in rehabilitation and physical therapy. Sara had tried to support him but he had refused to be coddled, insisting he could do everything himself. He'd needed to prove to everyone (but mostly to himself) that he was capable, however it left her feeling at a loss, not knowing how to help. Eventually when he'd been fit to return to active duty, his missions became longer and harsher, some still caused him nightmares. Again he wouldn't let Sara help. 'No wonder she wants a divorce,' he thought to himself 'I've been pushing her away for the last five years'. 

As he entered the comissionary he was still looking at his feet, causing him to walk straight into a cup of scalding coffee and the person holding said cup.

"Dammit, would you watch where you're going!" He growled, now wearing the coffee down his front.

"S-sorry Colonel, I'm so sorry, I should have been watching where I was going!" 

"Damn right!" He replied, finally looking up at the person responsible for making his day even worse, to find Dr Carter looking quite distraught.

"Can I get you anything? A towel? I can go to the laundry and get you a clean shirt. I'm so sorry, I-" he cut her off.

"It's ok, not your fault," he conceded, the anger he felt only moments before evaporating. "I wasn't exactly watching where I was going either."

"Are you sure I can't get you a clean shirt?" she still looked rather worried, fearful even. He wasn't that scary was he? Well, maybe when he was angry, and he had been angry when he yelled at her, but surely she knew he wouldn't hurt her or anything.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. You okay?"

"Hmm, oh, uh, yeah, uh, I think you ended up wearing most of it," she wasn't looking so scared anymore. 

'That's good.' He thought. "Yeah, I think I should head back and change."

"Can I get you anything while your gone? You obviously came here for something."

"Just coffee, I can get it later."

"No, please let me. It's the least I can do after running into you like that."

"Like I said wasn't your fault."

"Black, white? Sugar? " she persisted.

"Fine, have it your way, strong black with two sugars, I'll be back in five."

"I'll save you a seat!" she called after him.

Five minutes later Jack was back in the comissionary, in a clean shirt, sipping a nice hot cup of coffee.

"Thanks for the coffee," He decided to go for a bit of small talk. "It's good."

"It's the least I could do."

"So, working on anything interesting in your lab?"

"Yeah, but it's classified. What are you guys doing in training?

"Uh, that's classified too." A brief silence fell upon them. "Oh, what about your fiancée? How'd his 'business trip' go?"

"Classified." They shared a chuckle.

"Ah, so much for small talk!" 

"I need more coffee!" Sam groaned as she lowered her head to rest on the table.

"Long night?"

"Oh yeah," she stifled a yawn. "It took me all day just to...oh, never mind"

"Classified." He stated with a wry smile.

"Yeah."

"So what type of doctor are you exactly?"

"Astrophysicist."

"Then I guess it's a good thing your work is classified, cause there's no way I'd understand if you told me what you were doing anyway." He said, earning him a smile from her. 'Man she could knock a guy out with that smile!'

"I don't think very many people understand half of what I say most of the time, even when I'm not talking physics, so don't worry about it."

"I bet it's a lot of fun confusing the brass." Another smile.

"You wouldn't believe! When I write reports I have to attach a glossary that's usually just as long." He smiled back.

"Wouldn't it just be easier to use simpler terms?"

"Yeah, but it makes them think I'm more valuable if I use the big ones." She giggled

"What, you're not afraid of losing your job are you?"

"Not really, but I can't imagine working anywhere else."

"If you weren't able to be a scientist anymore what would you do?"

"I really have no idea," she thought for a moment. "Maybe a horticulturist?"

"Ah, another profession with big long words, I think I understand your motivation now." Yet another smile.

"What about you? What would you do if you weren't military?"

"I wish I knew," he sighed, his good mood dissipating.

"You sound like you're gonna be kicked out or something!"

"Or something."

"What's happened?" she sounded concerned.

"Never mind, you don't need to hear about it."

"You didn't get really get kicked out did you? I was only joking when I said it."

"No, not kicked out, more like dragged." He hoped she would leave it at that, but he doubted she would.

"By who?"

"My wife." 'Please don't ask anymore questions' he begged her silently. She seemed to take the hint.

"Oh."

"She got a job offer in Denver." 'Why am I still talking?' he was a little confused as to why he was telling this to her. "She told me that she's taking the job and my son with her. Apparently she thinks that if I want to be a part of their lives then I have to quit Black Ops." He scrubbed his face with the palms of his hands.

"So when are you moving to Denver?" Was it just him or did she sound a little disappointed?

"That's just it, I don't know if I am." He confided. "I mean, I don't wanna lose my son, but I doubt my marriage is worth saving."

"Couldn't you get joint custody?"

"I don't know, I mean, missions are sporadic at best, I never know when I'm gonna get sent off or to where. I don't see how a judge is gonna give me custody without some kind of stability." He said and as an afterthought; 'Huh, I guess that's what Sara was getting at.'

"You'd still have rights though, visitation at least."

"I just wish things hadn't gotten so out of hand."

"If it was just you, you'd stay?"

"Of course, but..."

"Your son"

"Yeah," he sighed, then snorted, "I wish I could talk to my wife as easily as I talk to you."

"It's always easier to talk to someone who's removed from the situation."

"I guess, let's talk about something else though, now."

"Sure"

An hour late they were still sitting at their table chatting about everything an nothing. He'd found out she liked classic cars, motorbikes and that science was actually fun to her and not just a job, that her mother had died when she was a teenager and that she hadn't spoken to either her father or her brother in a long time. In turn he told her about his love of Hockey, "The Simpsons" and his son Charlie. He also told her that he'd not spoken to his parents very much since joining the military.

"Hey Jack, you gonna sit there all day, or are you coming to training?" Kawalsky interrupted their conversation. Jack looked at his watch.

"Man, I didn't realise the time." Sam looked at her watch too.

"Oh, I better get to work, um, it was nice talking to you Colonel."

"Yeah you too, bye."

"Bye!" She left with a smile.

"So, you gonna tell me what you two were talking about or do I have to guess?" the Major jibed.

"Huh, oh just stuff." He replied, his eyes still on the door Dr Carter had left through.

"I thought you said you were married."

"I am." 

"So what's going on with the Doc?"

"Nothing, we were just talking."

"Yeah, sure. Anyway we gotta get to training. I want the truth later!" And with that they too left the comissionary.

To Be Continued...  


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